From the Rector's Desk
This Beautiful Mess
New Fall Events
Redeemer Kids Corner
Redeemer Youth Ministries
Prayer Notes
Birthdays
10/5 Chris Marchand
MINISTRY NEEDS
Set-up Team: 2-3 people to help with set-ups on Sundays and for special events. Contact Julia at the church office, (847) 681-2872.
SUNDAY READINGS
Habakkuk 1:1-6,12-13,2:1-4
Psalm 37:3-10
2 Timothy 1:1-7
Luke 17:5-6
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From the Rector's Desk:
You’ve noticed by now, I’m sure, our new format for the weekly update from Church of the Redeemer. I think it looks great, and I’m very grateful to Julia Wright, our Office Manager, for her gifts in making things like this happen. Excellence is the mark of Christian stewardship, and it’s important that the things we engage in reflect the creative spark of the One who has called us and has made and sustains the universe. So there’s a theological reason we keep reaching forward in honing our skills, etc.
There’s also a reason that relates to mission. We want this weekly communiqué to be something that you are confident to pass along to friends, both inside and outside of the Christian faith-journey that we are on. Even an email message can be a way to reach out to others, and it needs to speak well of our call before the Lord, and what God is doing here at Redeemer. What we do communicates, whether intentionally or not, so it’s important to reflect that honestly (we’re not putting up over-stated impressions, etc) but also creatively and with a little panache (that’s allowed for Christians, don’t you think?) At any rate, welcome to the new design….still in search of a name. If you have some creative ideas for naming this once-a-week update, please let us know.
--I did receive quite a bit of feedback from Sunday’s message on money and giving. While it wasn’t a traditional ‘stewardship’ sermon, the parable of the rich man and Lazarus did take us, once again, into an encounter with Jesus’ teaching on the Kingdom and its relationship to riches. Here’s one email I received:
Jay, your sermon Sunday was so right on (not that others aren't!). God has really gotten a hold of our attitudes toward money over the past 3 years - especially with me - and it hit me big time three years ago. Since then, my attitudes toward "stuff" have really changed and God has worked providential miracles on our behalf as (my husband and) I have been obedient to his commandments in this area. Crown Ministries is awesome and Howard Dayton has had a life changing impact on my life.
This area of stewardship is one in which we are all having to learn to grow and be obedient, especially since it is so counter cultural. But it’s ultimately a place of great joy and blessing. Materialism thrives by creating ‘need’ in us (that we don’t really have), in order to get us to spend to find a new level of satisfaction that we couldn’t have known before. At least that’s the concept. This is in direct opposition to the call to look to God as the source for everything related to our enjoyment (I Tim 6:17).
I’m very grateful for your faithful stewardship of our ministry together at Church of the Redeemer. God is honouring that, and is opening for us new dimensions of worship, service and blessing.
Dig deeper:
Web: Crown Financial Ministries, http://www.crown.org/
Book: Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, by Ron Sider
Audio: Listen to Fr. Jay’s sermon again online, or pass along to someone else.
I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday, and those you will bring with you this week. May God bless his people and his Church, and our corner of it at Church of the Redeemer.
In His Grip,
Jay+
frjay@redeemernorthshore.org
This Beautiful Mess
 Referenced in the worship service Sunday was this book that the Vestry members are currently reading, This Beautiful Mess by Rick Mckinley. Like to join in? Click on the cover to order from Amazon.
New Fall Events!
Join us at 9 a.m. - "Visions of Jesus in the Book of Revelations"
Join us throughout the month of October at 9 a.m. in the Fellowship Hall downstairs for a class led by Dana Harris, a gifted Bible teacher who has been a part of our congregation for a number of years. Dana is on the faculty at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and we are excited that she is sharing herr transforming insights on “Visions of Jesus in the Book of Revelation.”
We also have ministry with children and youth during the 9:00 to 9:45 a.m. session before our family worship at 10:00 a.m. Invite some friends and be a part of this unique and exciting opportunity.
Newcomer’s Lunch - October 21
If you’re fairly new to our community at Redeemer, we’d like to invite you to a special lunch following the morning worship on October 21. You’ll be able to meet some folks who have been a part of this community for some time, including some of our leaders. We’ll explain more of who we are and what we think God is calling us to on this exciting journey.
It’s a great opportunity for us all to invite people to attend worship with us, then lunch, as we share the excitement of this life together at Redeemer.
2nd CaLLiNG Seminar - October 19 & 20
The second annual CaLLiNG Seminar, offering theological training to lay leaders, catechists, and anyone interested in personal enrichment, takes place on October 19 & 20. Dr. Boaz Johnson will be teaching on "The Mission and Evangelism message of the Hebrew Prophets." The event costs $35 for preregistration, $40 at the door. This includes the sessions as well as breakfast and lunch on Saturday. The sessions will take place from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, and 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on Saturday, at the Evangelical Church in Highland Park. To register, please call 262.653.1622
Leaders' Training - October 27
On Saturday morning, October 27 from 9 to 10:30am those leading ministries at Church of the Redeemer will get together for some coffee, bagels, and encouragement in their leadership. This will be a time for vision casting, information sharing and further equipping for ministry, so that we can all be as effective and faithful as possible in following the call before us.
If your name is listed in the bulletin as leading a ministry or you serve on the vestry then this time is for you. The training will be at the Evangelical Church in Highland Park. The meeting will not go past 10:30am.
All Saints’ Baptism - November 4
November 4 we will observe All Saints Sunday at Redeemer, along with other churches throughout the world. We give thanks for God’s people throughout time and around the globe, and its one of the special times when baptisms are particularly appropriate. Baptism is essential in our walk of faith, and we encourage and welcome those who are considering a response of obedience to this call of the Lord.
At Church of the Redeemer we baptize those who are committed to the Christian faith and their children, provided they have not been baptized before. We believe that in this way we are participating in the sacrament of baptism as it was practiced in the New Testament, the early church, and throughout the history of God’s people in Jesus Christ. To read more about Church of the Redeemer's beliefs on baptism, click here.
For more information on baptism, and to inquire about participating, please contact Father Jay at frjay@redeemernorthshore.org, or call our church office.
Redeemer Kids Corner
Each Sunday during the family hour at 9am, our time for children will focus on giving them the opportunity to explore various forms of ministry within the church where they can serve. The first three weeks of each month, will focus on a particular area of ministry and give each child the chance to serve within it. On the fourth Sunday of the month, we will celebrate. This Sunday we will introducing this time by exploring how Paul compared the church to a body and how critical each part is to its functioning . We will be thinking about the members of our body, that's you, and serving you through prayer. If you have a prayer request that you would like our children to pray for this week, please email it to Allyson Entner at allyson@redeemernorthshore.org. Our children are a vital part of the body, and we desire to empower them to be active within it.
There will also be nursery care available during the education hour.
Redeemer Youth Ministries
Thank you for your prayers for our DATE NIGHT this last Friday. It went extremely well. The Jr. High did a wonderful job at watching one our infants for the evening, Miriam Burns. I am very proud of our Jr. High Students and look forward to seeing how this ministry will develop. Special thanks to Judy Bailey and Sallie Vroom for helping for the evening. We are planning another date night during the Christmas season. Please be in prayer for families that we could serve with this event in the future.
For Sr. High this Sunday, we are addressing the question, “How does one open oneself to God?” Our youth staff will be answering this question in the form of a panel discussion this Sunday. Thank you again for your prayers and support!
Prayer Notes. . .
- for the Mission and Vision and Outreach of Church of the Redeemer
- for our Rector, Fr. Jay, and his family
- for Bishop Sandy and Gigi Greene
- for our staff and their families
- for our leadership (Vestry, ministry leaders)
- for our 'settling in' at Redeemer Lutheran
- for the Anglican Church of Rwanda, its leaders and people
- for all who serve within the context of our faith community
- for teachers, students and staff as school, in all its various forms, resumes
- that we would faithfully reach out to the spiritually disconnected and hurting, and bring them into fellowship
- for other congregations in relationship to us
- to enrich and expand our life of prayer
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